Secular education on the decrease in national religious schools in Israel

By JEREMY SHARON04/10/2014

Study finds secular studies are greatly reduced and there is an emphasis on superficial learning by rote in such schools.

The number of schools teaching intensive religious studies curriculums in the national religious sector has doubled in the last ten years, research published by the Ne’emanei Torah VaAvodah organization reveals.

According to the group, as of the beginning of the current academic year there were 56 schools in the national religious sector which teach a syllabus dedicated to religious studies.

Boys and girls are separated in such schools, secular studies are greatly reduced and there is an emphasis on superficial learning by rote instead of encouraging deeper examination of ideas, the study says.

Two thirds of these so-called “Talmud Torah” schools are operating within the state religious school system. The increase in these types of national-religious schools is due to the fact that more and more state religious elementary schools have either turned themselves into a Talmud-Torah school, or established themselves as such from the outset, NTA’s report said.

In addition, the prevalence of such schools has spread geographically. Whereas they used to be primarily located in Jerusalem and the Judea and Samaria regions, they can now be found across the country.

The organization's Policy and Research Coordinator Eyal Berger, who conducted the research, said that despite the far reaching consequences of what he termed “an educational revolution,” the national religious community has not held a serious debate on the issue.

“In the framework of these developments, elementary schools in the state religious system are breaching the delicate balance they inherited between Torah study and general education, and the need for intellectual curiosity and integration into all aspects of life,” Berger said.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Berger said that it was always a critical value of the national religious community to provide its children with a broad general education, alongside a deep knowledge of Torah, because an aspect of the community’s ideology is to be a part of broader society and to help shape it.

But he said that if the trend observed in the last ten years of a decreased emphasis on general education continues, it could certainly influence the future ability of children from sectors of the national religious community to enter higher education and at a later stage integrate into the work force.Secular education on the decrease in national religious schools.